A Little Something on Tech Week

Tech week has finally thrust itself upon us. And you know what? It’s not that bad.

Tech week has a horrendous reputation among those who work in the theater as the worst week of the production’s process – and in many respects that reputation is absolutely correct.

For those who are uninitiated into the working’s of theater, tech week is when, after the weeks and months of perfecting the play’s acting, blocking, character moments, etc., the tech crew steps in to add all the wonderful lights and sounds that really bring the show to life. It is a long process, and most of the time it is a difficult process (because nothing ever works out the first time you do it, right?).

Because tech is such a time-consuming process, the actors are required to participate in what are called ten-out-of-twelves, a term that refers to a twelve-hour tech day, with only a two hour dinner break in between (literally ten hours out of twelve).

These long hours can be both frustrating and exhausting, especially if the light and sound cues don’t work the way you thought they would the first time you write them.

However, the important thing to remember is that despite tech week’s reputation, it’s actually not that bad. Some shows, the lights and sounds just work.

Sometimes everything goes exactly the way it’s supposed to go, and show looks beautiful. It’s not just happenstance, either, it’s a lot of hard work – so I’m going to say thank-you, thank-you to all the technicians who worked tirelessly this past weekend to really bring our show to life.

Thank-you for using your skills to the best of your abilities, and thank-you for being the behind-the-scenes magic that goes that extra mile. It’s your hard work and dedication that relieves the stress of tech week.